Curse of a Rose
by KageNoYoko
Summary: Stumbling across an ancient curse completely by accident while on death's door, A girl is now forced to walk the earth in search of someone that can end her miserable existance, but finds more than she expected when she comes to the city of Vale following a lead on a blonde-haired pyrokinetic. Rating T for now, but subject to change later, perhaps.
1. Prologue

**First person - Ruby's P.O.V**

For as long as I've lived life has been a difficult challenge for me, an uphill battle with no end in sight, but I've done my best to fight back against the injustices of the world and keep myself alive against those who would wish to snuff out my life.

Thankfully I had strangely imbalanced luck that appeared to change it's directions on a whim, and even when I was at death's door I managed to somehow squeeze my way out of it's grasp by the skin of my teeth, though this life I now live might not be called a blessing.

A flinch managed to work it's way past my hardened features as I felt a pulse of pain pass through my scalp, and unconsciously I lifted my hand up to brush against the petals of the rose decorating my short black hair, the softness a hollow comfort to me as I looked back out over the city that I was in for the moment.

Following a lead that I'd squeezed out of the lips of an especially disgruntled group of thugs, I was in the city of Vale looking for a blonde-haired girl that was said to be able to control fire, and would hopefully turn out to be my salvation against the curse that my life had become since my accident and near-death experience.

Hope filled my silver eyes as I thought the end might be in sight at last, the end of a long journey filled with pain and loss, and I reached down to grasp the handle of my constant companion sheathed at my waist for strength before I jumped from the wall I had been standing on down to the city streets below, illuminated by pale lights.

I could only hope that this girl would have what I had been searching for.


	2. three girls, one destiny

Ruby scoffed to herself as she watched people brush past her on the street, barely containing the urge to sneer at some of the more rude ones who didn't even try to get out of her way as she fought her way through the busy streets of Vale.

City life had never agreed with the silver-eyed girl, and the longer she spent in Vale the less she liked about it, and only hoped that her visit would be brief and filled with success this time, unlike her last few leads on fire-wielders in remnant.

When a skill such as pyrokinesis was so rare, it was any wonder that Ruby had no luck finding someone skilled enough in the art to kill her, and once or twice she would feel despair entering her heart of ever finding an end to this torment that her life had become.

Growing sick as another person rammed into her side, Ruby ducked off down an alley to get away from everyone, and leaned up against a wall to catch her breath as she tightened her hold upon her bloodlust to avoid causing a scene in the city before she had a chance to find her salvation.

Thankfully she had years to master her control over her temper, so a few quick breaths were all she needed before she slipped back out into the hustle and bustle of another street, towards the destination her unfortunate contact had given her about the blonde-haired pyro and the bar that she frequented that laid deeper in the city.

She could only hope that this girl would listen to her, as another throb of pain pierced her brain for a moment, but she held back from a visible reaction.

It could all be over soon, she reminded herself.

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Boredom was a common occurrence for a thrill-seeker like Yang in a dusty old city like Vale, but much as she would have preferred to be out past the city walls hunting monsters in the mountains, she had obligations to stick to in order to make her way through life, and this kept her from following her heart as she would have preferred.

At least, she mused to herself, there were some other things than just her job keeping her in Vale, as she heard the door open into the garage, admitting her dark-haired best friend, who had an amused smile on her face as she stepped fully into the room and caught sight of a pair of legs peeking out from underneath a hummer.

"Shouldn't you be out in the city looking for work instead of back here tuning up your baby Yang?" The crisp voice of Blake Belladonna inquired as she leaned up against one of Yang's workstations around the room and began looking over a few of the tools that Yang was required to use for repairs and the like.

"Hey, I worked all day yesterday and didn't even get to go out and party at the club like I would have preferred, give me a break here Blakey" Yang complained back at her friend from underneath her vehicle while she worked on the undercarriage.

"Oh yes, like you going out and getting drunk is any better than shirking off from work and spending time working on a hummer that you don't even get to use because you can't leave the city" Blake replied, and Yang knew that the dark-haired girl was rolling her eyes at her friend even without having to see her.

It was in the nature of their friendship for Blake to be the no-nonsense foil to Yang's adventurous spirit, and she was probably the only person that kept Yang grounded, which the blonde would never be able to find enough words to thank her for.

This still didn't mean that she wouldn't be giving the black-haired girl a hard time every chance she got, and she took some joy out of getting on the girl's last nerve, and made it a challenge to see just how far she could push her "you know Blake, you really ought to go out and find yourself a guy...or a girl" she added more as an afterthought "if you're this uptight you must be seriously missing out on a nice bit of T.L.C."

Blake's face immediately grew red as she knew exactly what Yang was implying to her, and had to fight back the urge to throw a wrench that was within reach at the blonde-haired girl in an attempt to make her shut up with her crude comments.

Wheeling out from under her hummer and wiping her grease-soaked hands down on a rag she had beside her, Yang smiled up at her friend, making quite a sight with her grease and oil filled hair and face. Blake was hard-pressed to avoid beginning to chuckle, but managed to hold out and turned away from the blonde, telling her in an easy tone to "go take a shower you insufferable grease monkey."

Getting up, Yang was cheeky enough to give the black-haired girl a salute before turning and leaving out the back of the garage, which lead out into her small yard. Hurrying across the yard and into her shop proper, Yang took a right and went upstairs into her actual home on the floor above, and found her way into the washroom for a much-needed shower.

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Weiss Schnee frowned to herself as she stood on top of the police station, staring out over the city she had sworn to protect with a critical eye.

Crime had recently risen in the city, and it was all the girl could do to keep the other officers focused on stopping both the petty and major criminals in the city without going insane. It was a very taxing workload, and she had being going almost non-stop for the last few days with very little sleep and plenty of caffeine.

Speaking of which, the fair-haired girl heard the door opening behind her, and with a small turn of her head she managed to catch black hair with a streak of pink in it step into her line of sight, telling her without question exactly who it was "do you have anything to report Ren?

The black-haired boy was both Weiss' secretary and closest confidante, though there were some lines that the two would not cross with each other, and he knew even a few of her more well-kept secrets which she would prefer not get out to the general public. With a nod, the pink-eyed boy began to read from the stack of forms in his hand.

"A few of our officers followed up on that lead we got about a gang near Signal, and managed to catch the lot of them. Turns out they were a smaller detachment of the larger group the White Fang, but so far we haven't been able to get anything out of them regarding the location of the main base of operations" the man reported in a muted tone.

With a deep sigh Weiss put her hands down on the railing that surrounded the roof before lowering her head in thought. The White Fang had been a constant thorn in Vale's side for years, even back to when Weiss' now retired father had been the chief of police before her, and despite managing to capture a few smaller branches, they somehow still could not uncover any information about the larger groups, and did not have any information about who led the group from the shadows, or where they received all of their funding from.

It was all a constant headache for Weiss, but she tried to push through it for the moment and instead focus on other matters "what about a follow-up regarding that fight at Junior's bar the other day?"

"Inconclusive so far, but the owner has said something about a blonde-haired girl who started the fight. Apparently she managed to slip away during the mess, and no one we've questioned has any information about her" Ren explained, looking down on his reports in order to give his chief the information.

Almost feeling the urge to scream as she kept running into brick walls in her work, Weiss turned on her heeled boots and stormed towards the stairs where Ren was standing, muttering under her breath that she needed more coffee as she descended the stairs with Ren in hot pursuit.

Walking through the halls of Vale P.D, Weiss passed a few officers as they spoke about negligible topics, and for the most part ignored her presence. It was just the kind of atmosphere that had formed when she became the chief of police, and everyone was happy with the situation as it stood.

Weiss had started out as just another officer under her father, but had an exemplary record under her belt of arrests and busts that allowed her to quickly rise through the ranks, and though there were some whispers about preferential treatment, no one could argue that Weiss definitely deserved the position of chief when her father stepped down.

The sound of a phone snapped the white-haired girl out of her introspection, and she turned to quirk a brow at Ren, who had brought a hand to his face with a groan before reaching down and slipping his phone out of his pocket.

Checking the caller ID, the black-haired boy groaned again as his eyes looked up to regard his boss, before informing her "sorry about this Weiss, but I should probably take this call" before he stepped away and accepted the call once he rounded a corner.

Weiss could guess who was calling the boy while he was at work, and understood his need to speak with her. Nora Valkyrie was almost a force of nature unto herself and there had been several close calls where she nearly was arrested for some of her wild antics, so Ren tried to keep an eye on his best friend to make sure she didn't end up in a jail cell.

The fair-haired girl did play with the thought of what crazy scheme Nora might have gotten up to this time, but brushed them aside as she finally reached her office and slipped inside with barely any sound.

Her desk was mostly bare, with only a few forms, which she guessed were about the arrests made on the White Fang members that Ren had been telling her about, and perhaps a few warrants that she had been trying to get so that they could investigate some shady business dealings in the city, but she allowed her mind to wander again as she walked around the room.

When she felt the temperature beginning to drop in the room Weiss' attention was snapped back onto the moment at hand, and looking down she saw a light fog was beginning to form around her left hand.

Clearing her mind had become second-nature to the girl by this point, and she clenched her fist to dissipate the fog around her hand as she tightened her grip upon her powers. Obviously she had been allowing her mind to wander too much if her powers were attempting to manifest, and she refused to have an episode at work, where all of her officers expected her to have complete control over her emotions.

Scowling as she looked out the window, Weiss blinked when she thought that she saw a blob of red in the crowd down on the street, and upon closer inspection realized that it was a girl with a red rose in her hair. 

Scoffing and shaking her head, Weiss had to question if this was just the style that girls were going for these days, and hoped that it wouldn't last long, as it was rather ridiculous-looking.

Finally done with her wool-gathering, Weiss moved over to her desk and took a seat, grabbing a nearby pen before beginning work on some of the forms, hoping that it would be good news and that she would be able to get a stranglehold over a bit of the crime in this city.

Even stopping just one ne'er do well could do great things for Vale when it was in this state.


End file.
